Brian Laundrie’s Friend Claims His Parents Were Granted Immunity In Exchange For Telling Police Where He Was
But their lawyer disagrees.
YouTube / Twitter A source claims Brian Laundrie’s parents led police to their son’s remains as part of a deal to avoid prosecution.
The anonymous source claims to be a longtime friend of Gabby Petito’s boyfriend — who was found dead last month after being a person of interest in her disappearance and homicide for over a month.
The source claims to have gathered information from someone who is a close friend of the Laundrie family.
They say Brian Laundrie’s parents made a deal to get immunity.
"We believe his mom and dad struck some sort of secret deal of immunity between either the Florida DA or the FBI.”
The source claims that Chris and Roberta Laundrie “want to save themselves” and, therefore, disclosed information about Brian’s location.
The friend claimed that, as part of the deal, Chris and Roberta were required to "provide the necessary evidence to close the case"
By helping authorities find their son, the source says, they have been granted "immunity for all charges of harboring, assisting, or whatever it might be."
The source has echoed theories spread across social media about the Laundrie’s alleged involvement in their son’s disappearance.
Online sleuths suspected the Laundries made a deal.
When footage of Chris and Roberta searching the area where Brian’s belongings were found emerged, many were suspicious of how the couple had managed to wrap up the case in a matter of hours after weeks of unsuccessful FBI search.
“It’s like Chris and Roberta Laundrie knew his exact location the whole time! I speculate Steven Bertolino worked out a plea deal for them,” wrote one Twitter user.
“This is one of the reasons I wonder if Chris and Roberta struck an immunity deal with the FBI. They didn’t need gloves because the deal was sealed,” said another in reference to the fact that Brian’s parents didn’t wear equipment to prevent evidence contamination while searching.
Steven Bertolino has denied making an immunity deal.
The Laundrie’s lawyer has sharply criticized the theory that his clients hid evidence and used it to bargain for immunity.
Bertolino says the FBI did once discuss charges with Brian’s parents but concluded that no charge was appropriate.
"There was never a threat, there was never a coercion, there was never a deal cut,” he claimed.
"There were no deals, there were certainly conversations as one would expect happens in every criminal case. The Laundries were cooperating."
Both before and since the discovery of Brian’s remains, many theorized that his parents could face charges related to Petito’s death or an alleged cover up.
However, in the weeks since he was found police have made no move to investigate Brian’s parents any further.
Equally, Brian has not been officially linked to Petito’s death by strangulation and, before his remains were found, was only wanted for charges related to unauthorized use of his girlfriend’s bank card.
It remains unclear if investigators will be able to close Petito’s case without being able to gather evidence from Brian about her final movements or his alleged involvement in her death.
Alice Kelly is a senior news and entertainment editor for YourTango. Based out of Brooklyn, New York, her work covers all things social justice, pop culture, and human interest. Keep up with her Twitter for more.